


Magic Club

by 9r7g5h



Category: Dimension 20 (Web Series), Fantasy High
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Magical, Anxiety Attacks, F/F, Friendship, Happy Ending, set in the 80s, tw some homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-27
Packaged: 2021-03-11 01:36:22
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,169
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28296894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/9r7g5h/pseuds/9r7g5h
Summary: Friendships and finding yourself is tough enough, but even harder when you add magic into the mix.
Relationships: Adaine Abernant & Kristen Applebees, Kristen Applebees/Tracker O'Shaughnessey
Comments: 5
Kudos: 21
Collections: Dimension 20 Big Bang





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: It was a joy to work on this fic over the last few months! I will be adding my amazing artist Apricotflyer's work as a second chapter soon, so keep an eye out for that! :) A huge thank you to my beta, Ladybuglaura, and to the mods who put this all together! 
> 
> A/N 2: The art has been added! A small version is in the fic itself, a larger version has been added as a second chapter, and here are the links! Go give lots of love for the amazing work! 
> 
> Twitter link: https://twitter.com/art_apri/status/1342945577491812352  
> Tumblr link: https://burn-towns-get-money.tumblr.com/post/638602370459254784/here-is-my-art-piece-for-d20bigbang-this-is-for
> 
> Disclaimer: I do not own Dimension 20 or Fantasy High.

She was not going to cry. She just wasn't. Even as the familiar pressure built up in her chest, Adaine was sure she wasn't going to cry. 

It didn't matter that it was almost dark, that she was cold and wet and muddy, that her parents would be furious with her when she eventually dragged herself into the house, half of her things still missing and her bag with a giant hole in the side. It wouldn't matter that it wasn't her fault, that once again Aelwyn had refused to drive her home, leaving her at the mercy of the bullies that wandered the school yard after the final bell. It had never mattered before, and it wasn't going to start mattering anytime soon. 

So, Adaine wasn't going to cry. Not this time. This time, even though she could feel her heart in her stomach, could feel her mind beginning to fuzz with the panic that so often overwhelmed her, she wasn't going to cry. 

Instead, she focused on searching through the overgrowth that her belongings had been dumped into, muttering curses under her breath as she looked through the small grove of trees that lined the edge of the football field. If she was lucky, she could find the final textbook she was missing before the sun fully set, and she could finally head on home. It wasn't ideal - she'd have to write off her pencil case, and would probably have to ask one of the maids to pick her up a new calculator next time they went shopping, but it was better than nothing. 

And as Adaine bit her tongue around the yelp that tried to force itself from her lips as her hand landed on something pointy enough to break the skin of her palm, better than nothing was more than good enough. 

"Hey, are you ok?" 

Another yelp, this time of fear, as Adaine twisted to face the figure that had come up behind her, her other hand already curling into a fist as she braced herself. Sure, she was on her ass, injured and tired and cold, eyes mostly shut as the person now before her shone a flashlight into her face, but that determination to just not cry had turned into anger, and if those bullies from before had come back, she was ready. She'd probably die, sure, but at least she'd go down swinging this time. 

"Whoa, hey, it's ok! It's just me." 

A long moment passed as she forced her heart to calm, as she struggled to push away the fight-or-flight that was still thrumming through her veins, but eventually Adaine was able to force a ragged breath. It wasn't much, wasn't the deep, even breathing she wanted, but it was enough to once again shove away the fog that she could feel creeping into her brain, her mind finally registering the girl standing before her. 

"You're...Kristen, right?" Adaine swallowed thickly, eyes roaming over the other girl before her, cataloging the classmate she recognized from history. They weren't close, but they had occasionally shared notes and had exchanged the normal pleasantries when they found themselves standing together in the lunch line. She was a nice enough girl, if a bit wrapped up in her friends from her church, but the concerned look on her face was enough to finally let Adaine fully relax. 

She wasn't a friend, but at least she wasn't an enemy, and Adaine was happy for the semi-friendly face. 

"Yeah, Kristen Applebees," Kristen confirmed with a nod, "and you're Adaine. Are you ok?" 

A snort, because of course she wasn't - her ass was in a mud puddle, her skirt was ruined, her hand was bleeding, she was barely holding on from having one of her 'fits' as her mother like to call them, and still hadn't been able to find the last of her things. She was as far from ok as she could be, and if she was honest with herself, had been for months. Instead of saying any of this, though, Adaine just gave a small shrug and allowed Kristen to pull her hand into her lap. 

She had thought it a bit weird that the red-head always carried a first aid kit with her, as much a part of her signature as her always present bible or the never ending tie dye t-shirts she always wore, but as Kristen effortlessly plucked out the thorn and bandaged her palm, she was glad for the other girl's eccentricities. 

"So, what're you doing out here? No judgement, but school's been out for hours, and it doesn't seem like you were here for a club or something." 

"Do you know Dayne?" 

"Oh." 

Although Kristen and her other church friends were spared most of the football team's antics, Coach Daybreak's fondness for any child that he saw in the pews a shield that kept them mostly untouched, it was still well known that they were mostly bullies. Bullies and jerks who went after anyone they figured they could get away with tormenting, if at least once. Most of the time Adaine could avoid them, playing the smart good girl act to keep them off her tail so they would go after the more alternative members of their school, like Zayne, or that girl who always carried around that giant bass, but occasionally they still turned towards her. 

The fact that her family was rich, that she was a new girl in a class that had been together since kindergarten, and that she still hadn't found a group of friends to take her side made her an easy target. 

"What about you?" Adaine asked, flexing her hand as Kristen finished tending the wound. It felt weird, the pull of the skin against the bandages unfamiliar to her, but at least it was one less thing that she'd have to explain when she got home. "What're you still doing here?" Looking back up, she raised an eyebrow as Kristen flushed, the red of her hair bleeding down her cheeks and neck. 

For a moment, teasing words lived and died on her lips, the same kind that she would have thrown at her friends at her old school. She had never understood the appeal, but even she could see that it was a secret boyfriend, no doubt, the source of all sorts of scandal if the word got out that the overly religious Applebees was meeting up with him on the school grounds of all places. But even as she opened her mouth to tease the girl before her, Adaine forced the words to die on her lips before they would leave, the smirk she could feel growing fading back to neutrality. 

This was maybe the first time they had ever talked besides notes and the casual, "How're you doing today?" They weren't friends, and it'd be poor repayment for her tending her wounds for Adaine to turn a simple question into the kind of teasing that destroyed reputations. 

"I was here for bible study," Kristen eventually answered, a perfectly plausible and neutral answer. The words felt well practiced, something that would be hard to disprove either way, so Adaine just nodded. She could keep the girl's secret. 

"What else are you missing?" Kristen asked as she stood, brushing off the dirt from her knees as she rushed to change the subject. Glancing up at the darkening sky, the last of the blue hour of dusk actually fading into true darkness, she held up her flashlight as an offering. "I can stay and help, if you want. It'll be quicker with both of us." 

"You really don't have to," Adaine protested, forcing herself up to stand with Kristen. Her back and legs protested, the time spent bent over and crawling to find the things that had rolled under bushes and tree roots catching up. "You've already done enough." 

"I really don't mind." Kristen waved her off, already sweeping her flashlight across the ground as she spoke. "My parents aren't expecting me home for another few hours, and it's not like you're asking me to stop the Nothing. I can help." 

There was something in her voice that just made Adaine shrug, grateful for the help as well. The more things she could take home, the less likely her parents would be to throw a fit when they saw her clothes, instead sticking to their normal quiet disappointment. At least that way she could avoid the lecture. 

A companionable silence fell over the two of them as they looked, only exchanging words as one found another of the lost items, Kristen quickly returning them to their proper owner, Adaine's mood rising as she realized she was that much closer to having the rest of her things back. Some she was sure were just lost, a couple of the loose papers too muddied or wet to read her looping handwriting, but she could deal with those. It was a shame about her backpack, but as Kristen handed her the cloth pencil case, muddy but intact, Adaine was almost smiling.

"I think that's everything. Thank you, Kristen, for your help. Really." 

A moment held in suspension between them, neither rightly knowing how to end the little joining of their paths. Thoughts of perhaps another meeting, this time on purpose, flashed across Adaine's mind - it'd be nice to have a friend, or at least someone who was actively friendly that she could chat with on occasion, beyond the request for notes when the other wasn't sure they’d fully understood the subject. Out of everyone she had met so far, someone who used her time to help pretty much a stranger was as good of a start to her social circle as anyone. And even though her parents had made it pretty clear that they didn't approve of anyone in this town, it wasn't like they could actively disprove of her. 

Something settling inside of her, loosening that ever present tightness that lived within her chest, Adaine flashed a real smile at Kristen, her mind made up as she tried to figure out the words.

Words that failed and died as it, whatever the fuck it was, happened, the light and the heat and the presence of something that she had never felt before encasing her, consuming her, destroying and remaking her in the instant it took for her to realized that she was dead, that she had died and somehow returned as something that was her and not her, every single bit of her being flaring with whatever this it was, as something grasped her hand and she grasped back, the feeling of fingers and flesh against her own the only knowledge that her mind could still understand as it happened. 

It was a book. 

She didn't know when she finished reforming, when the universe that had exploded within her cells finally settled into some semblance of what she had once been. She was shaking, they both were; she could feel Kristen's tremors through their intertwined hands, feeding into each other's unsteadiness until they were forced to sit on the scorched earth, the blackened circle surrounding them, dusting them with ash. Ash that soon had no source as the grass regrew, a deeper green than Adaine had ever remembered seeing, soft emeralds where before there had just been crabgrass that dug into her skin, that poked through her skirt instead of flowing like this new silken plant did under her. 

It was a book, maybe a bit thicker than Kristen's bible, almost the size of her father's closed briefcase. Dark leather, the smell of old parchment hitting her even sitting at the distance they were, strange darkness inscribed along the spine that sent another shudder through her, igniting a smaller version of what had torn through them at its appearance. Something she couldn't even begin to understand, something that twisted within her until it had burrowed out a place to settle within her, burning without the pain. Something healing and destroying and changing as it took home whatever it had decided to make of her. 

And then Kristen fucking touched it. 

It didn’t explode, like she believed it would. It didn’t kill them either, despite the slowly fading pain that still threaded its way through her veins, a warning that told every part of her that death was imminent. In fact, it did almost nothing, just letting off a small yellow spark as Kristen’s fingers brushed against the cover, an almost pleasant shudder running through them both at the touch. It was like she was the book and the book was her, all combined for that moment in existence as Kristen lifted them from the ground. 

“ _W_ _hat_ are you doing?” 

Kristen jumped as Adaine finally found her voice, finally remembered that she and the book were separate and realized that she was a person who could speak. She managed to scramble to her feet and stumble over to Kristen’s side, her newly remembered hand reaching out to smack the book from Kristen’s, both of them wincing as it fell to the ground with an almost painful thud. 

“I had to,” Kristen said with a shrug, her eyes wide and wild as she looked between Adaine and the book, a feeling that Adaine understood. She had felt the pull, had felt the need to touch the book herself, only the rising bubble of panic keeping her still. “Adaine, I _had_ to.” 

“I know, I know,” Adaine replied, grabbing Kristen’s arm and pulling her back, forcing the deep breaths she knew would keep that little bubble from growing and consuming, becoming the monster that forced itself from her despite her reluctance to let it live. "I know, but we can't just grab random books that appear from the middle of nowhere, Kristen. What if it's evil?" 

"Did that really feel evil to you?" 

Adaine wanted to say _yes_ , that it felt weird and unnatural and wrong, but the words refused to live on her lips. It had felt _right_ , scarily so, the power that had thrummed through her, that still fizzled in the tips of her fingers. An itch that wanted to be scratched, a promise that she was no longer weak. A desire to be used as she made it clear she was no longer the weak little girl the bullies had thought of her. Not bad, not evil, just power that she could shape as she desired. 

Instead of answering, Adaine just shook her head - not an answer, but clearing her mind of the strange thoughts that had taken root and were slowly growing. 

"That doesn't matter," she lied through her teeth, "because we still don't know what it is, or why it's here. It might not be evil," she allowed, "but that doesn't mean it's good either." 

Kristen looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers as she considered Adaine's words. "I don't know about that," she said slowly, flipping her hands back and forward and she looked at them, examining every familiar line and freckle that lined them. "I felt..." 

Lunging forward, Kristen grabbed Adaine's bandaged hand between both of her own, her face crinkling together as she focused on the hidden wound. The itching grew worse, different - this was an itch of something strange and weird happening to her body, not the itch of desire, a physical sensation as something crawled through and under skin, something originating from Kristen and flowing into her. 

Adaine jerked her hand back, scrambling to remove the bandage as the itch grew worse, an almost pain of its own as she let the wrappings fall. She stared in almost interested horror as the wound Kristen had so recently tended to writhed, the skin physically healing right before her eyes. It only took a single, agonizing second, days of healing completed in that time, for a fresh little pink patch of skin to take the place of where she had been wounded. And even that soon faded, until if she hadn't been there for the wound to appear, she never would have known that she had been injured in the first place. 

"What the fuck?" 

"I felt like I could help people," Kristen said, her hands shaking as she took Adaine's back again, this time gently, in wonder, as her trembling fingers traced where the wound had been. "I _feel_ like I can help people. Really, actually help them. Adaine, how can this be bad?" 

Adaine forced another deep breath, gritting her teeth as a small whine of panic tried to force itself from her throat. She could hold it together, at least until she was safe in her room. None of this made sense, none of this seemed to follow the actual rules of life she had had drilled into her brain so many times, and there was a part of her that was ok with that. 

They could change things. 

"We still don't know what this is, Kristen," Adaine finally spat, taking back control of her body. "This is magic, and doesn't your religion say magic is bad?" 

Kristen chuckled at that, shaking her head from side to side, a strange look on her face for a moment before it faded, Kristen letting go of Adaine's hand from between her own. 

"My religion says a lot of things are bad. But you know, lately, I'm beginning to wonder if it actually is." 

Ok, there was a lot to unpack there, clearly, and for the moment Adaine decided to ignore that. There wasn't time, nor did she actually have the brainpower to deal with this and whatever religious crisis Kristen was having. Instead she decided to file it for later, when they weren't standing on the far side of the school property in the middle of the night with a magic book that appeared out of nowhere. 

"Ok, whatever," Adaine finally sighed. "We still shouldn't mess with things we don't understand." 

"Which is exactly why we should mess with it," Kristen decided, bending down to pick the book back up. "Think of what we might be able to discover if we do? I _healed_ you, Adaine. What if we can become doctors and heal everyone in the world? Or what if this is just the beginning of our powers? Adaine, we could change things. At the very least, wouldn't it be nice to not be afraid?" 

Adaine wanted to ask what Kristen had to fear. She was protected by the coach, her family was well known in this tiny little town; sure, she wasn't popular, but she was protected in more ways than just popularity could give. 

But what she was suggesting was tempting. She wouldn't have to be scared of Dwayne or her sister or her parents ever again. If she could learn to control that itch that desired to be used...

"Why are you making so much sense," Adaine groaned, reaching out to finally touch the book, fulfilling that desire that had been wiggling in the back of her mind since it had appeared. The moment she did, a bright blue spark passed between her and it, and things seemed to calm, at least for a moment. This was a tool, she could now somehow understand, not good or evil in whatever way they could understand, but just something she could shape. 

What could she actually do with it?

"But we need to do this right, ok," Adaine said, eyeing Kristen carefully. "We need to take notes, and design experiments, and we are _not_ doing this at my house." 

Instead of answering, Kristen grabbed Adaine's hand with her free one and began pulling her into the woods, the two of them soon losing sight of the school as they ventured into the horrid undergrowth no one had tended to in who knows how many years. A fire hazard, Adaine noted, something that only helped the little bubble in her chest grow that slightest bit, her breathing growing ragged as she tried to keep up the pace Kristen had set while the images of them both going up in hell flames danced in her mind, but luckily she was soon distracted as she realized that this shouldn't be happening. 

They were walking far too long for such a small group of trees. 

"Kristen, I-" 

"We're almost there, promise," Kristen cut her off, glancing over her shoulder and giving her a reassuring smile. Her feet never paused, even as she took her eyes off the wild she so confidently walked through, as if she had been there a thousand times. "I don't know what's going on with this forest, but it's larger than it should be, right? I don't know if it's always been like this or what, but I found this place with my- my friend, and I think it'll be safe." 

At her last word the forest around them opened up, the two of them stumbling out into a clearing that was so much larger than it should be. A clearing with a river that seemed to have no end or beginning and a cave that actually seemed inviting, an old love seat and fire pit settled into it. 

It made no sense, absolutely none at all, and Adaine wanted both to leave and to find a way to dissect it to understand _why_. 

"We found this just a few days ago," Kristen explained, letting go of Adaine's hand and flopping onto the grass, long strands bending under her into what looked like an incredibly comfortable bed, the book on her stomach. "I don't think it used to be here, or at least I couldn't get here. It normally takes, what, ten minutes to walk through the forest side to side? They only keep it here to let some of the clubs use it for forest survival training, since, you know, everywhere else is just farm lands. But this isn't some normal copse of trees. You can feel it, right?" 

Adaine nodded, letting herself down to sit next to Kristen. She could feel it. The trees were too tall, the air too sweet, the grass under her too soft. The same kind of grass that had grown back after the book had burned the old stuff away. And, even more importantly, the weight on her chest was gone. There was nothing here that could hurt her. She was safe. 

That in and of itself put her back on edge, since nothing in this world actually felt like this, but she could examine that later. 

"How did you two find it?" 

Adaine was sure she knew the answer: clearly, Kristen had stumbled upon this place with her secret boyfriend, and the two of them had turned this into their little love nest. The blush that spread from Kristen's cheeks to her ears confirmed it, forcing a small smirk to play across Adaine's mouth as she watched her friend try to come up with a reasonable explanation. 

Wait. Friend? 

It felt right, she realized, applying that word to the girl stumbling over her words before her. It didn't matter that this was the most time the two had spent together in the months since Adaine's family had moved to Elmville. Something had happened, something they couldn't explain, and now they were friends. 

It felt nice, having an actual friend. 

"It doesn't matter," Kristen finally settled on, sitting back up and scooching so she was sitting next to Adaine. "Are we going to look at this book or not?" 

Taking a deep breath, rearranging herself so she was more comfortable in the grass, Adaine nodded and held out her hand. The other half of the cover fit easily into it as Kristen opened the overly large book and, balancing it between the two of them, they began to read. 

* * *

Adaine had been insistent on the two of them treating this like science instead of the magic that the book clearly indicated it was. Partly because, as the book had laid out, their powers were both specific to them, and partly because they were entirely unknown. The book had laid out some ways to test what kind of powers they had been given, some of which Adaine had included in their list of tests, but, overall, it mainly seemed to encourage experimentation. Spell after spell had been listed, as well as listing which kind of magic user could use them, with no actual instruction besides the general gist of how it should go. 

Overall, though fascinating, it was not incredibly helpful until after they figured out what they now were. 

Because she was so excited to get started, they experimented with Kristen first. They knew she had some kind of healing ability, if Adaine's hand was anything to go off of, but that only narrowed it down so much. There were a lot of these different types of magic users listed, all with their own quirks and needs and downfalls, and so Adaine was certain they would have to go through this scientifically. 

They had had to wait a week for Adaine to be ungrounded, her parents entirely uncaring of why she had come home so late and only caring about the fact that she had. Unfair, for sure, but not something she could fight without drawing suspicion. Instead, she had been the perfect angel, and she figured out the best way to extend her freedom so they would have the time they needed to perform each of these experiments. 

"You really told them you were joining Magic Club," Kristen snorted as she lounged on the loveseat, watching as Adaine stood at the table they had managed to smuggle off school property and into their clearing. For it was theirs, even if Adaine was sure Kristen occasionally brought her "friend" here to make out. It didn't matter that this clearing had apparently existed at least a few days before they had received the book, it was theirs and theirs alone, just like the book was. 

A safe place for them to experiment, and a safe place to store the book while they worked their way through the experiments Adaine had created for them during her punishment. 

"Was I wrong," Adaine replied, looking over her shoulder as she laid out the last of the papers she had drawn up. The tests she had come up with were extensive, the result of hours of "study time" as she tried to figure out every way to determine what exactly Kristen now was from what she could remember reading. Now that she had access to the book again she could double check, reconfirming that she wasn't duplicating unnecessary tests that would leave them with no answers. "What did you tell your parents?" 

Kristen shifted so she was laying upside down on the loveseat, her hair brushing against the ground as she hooked her knees over the top. "I told them I had found a poor soul who was looking for God, and I wanted to spend time with her after school helping her see the light since she was too scared to take those steps on her own." 

"And they actually believed that?" Adaine asked incredulously, setting off to the side the tests that showed the most promise. "At least my parents are just glad I'm going to learn card tricks and not trying to burn down the school. They're very worried that's a possibility." 

"You've never met my parents." 

Adaine stopped entirely as she heard Kristen shift again, her normal exuberance gone, voice small. She was sitting properly in the loveseat when Adaine turned around, hands carefully folded in her lap. 

"'Helping those enter the light of God and turn away from their sin is the greatest good you can ever achieve,'" Kristen quoted, clearly something she had heard a lot in her life. Adaine wanted to say something, but instead took the few steps needed to close the distance between them, her hand coming to rest on Kristen's shoulder. Only for Kristen to flash her a smile and jump to her feet. 

"I'm going to see if I can fly." 

"Wait, Kristen, what-" 

If anything, Kristen was _fast_. Not the most graceful, Adaine had seen her trip more times then she thought humanly possible in the last week, but she was sure was speedy. And apparently good at climbing trees, because before Adaine could stop her, Kristen was about twenty feet in the air up a tree that just happened to be perfect for climbing, almost more of a ladder then any tree had any right to be. 

"Kristen, this is not how science works, get down here _right now_!" 

"But it might be how magic works," Kristen just quipped back with a smile as she jumped, yelling "fly, fly" the whole way down. 

Needless to say, Kristen did not have the power of flight, no matter how much she bemoaned that it wasn't fair. She did, though, have the power to heal her own broken ankle and concussion when Adaine finally got her conscious again, the entire time terrified that her friend had just accidently killed herself with her stupid stunt. It took a bit, Kristen asking for someone named "Tracker" for the first minute or so once she was awake again (Adaine filed away the name of Kristen's secret boyfriend for future teasing once she wasn't so angry and anxious), but soon enough she was back to full health, if a bit sheepish. 

"So I guess that's not how magic works," Kristen admitted once she was back on the loveseat, Adaine's glare keeping her there. "Maybe we should stick to science."

"You think?"

Kristen couldn't help her sheepish grin, rubbing the back of her head where she hit it on a root. It was healed, Adaine had confirmed that, but it was still a bit sore, if just in a phantom way. 

Adaine was half glad that it was - hopefully it would keep her from doing something that stupid again in the future, though she wasn't so sure. A chaotic teenager who thought it was a good idea to jump from a tree and had proved she could just heal herself after. Oh, boy. 

"Now, just sit there, and try to make this rock glow." 

Forcing the rock and a piece of paper into Kristen's hands, Adaine sat down on the other side of the fire pit, notebook and pen in hand, and watched intently as Kristen cursed and tried. 

* * *

It took a while, a few weeks of spending their afternoons testing and laughing and occasionally catching up on the homework they were letting slide so their parents didn't get suspicious, but eventually they came to the conclusion that Kristen was a healer. A few offensive abilities, which Kristen had delighted in testing out, from blowing up defenseless piles of sticks to making shapeless but warm figures circle around her that hurt Adaine whenever she tried to approach if Kristen didn't give her explicit permission, but mainly focusing on healing those who were injured. 

"I guess it makes sense," Kristen mused, practicing moving the giant spectral weapon across the clearing, slowly and carefully sweeping it from side to side as it shifted from a sword to a hammer to an ear of corn. "I've thought about being a doctor one day, you know? Something that could actually help people, instead of just getting married right out of high school and popping out five kids like my parents did." 

"So maybe the magic felt that and gave you the tools you needed," Adaine continued, following the line of thought Kristen had started. She never stopped taking notes as she watched Kristen's weapon change, tracking how much quicker or slower the tool was as Kristen continued to move it, occasionally glancing over to check on her friend. "It would make sense," Adaine agreed, quickly drawing the newest form, a scythe, into the margin of her notebook under the rest of them. "Can you try to keep the form stable?"

Kristen shook her head and waved her hand, letting the weapon disappear into a bluish-gray smoke. While her healing abilities shifted from yellow to green to an almost twilight blue, the few weapons Kristen was able to conjure were always this bluish-gray, almost spectral in design and feel. 

"I'm not sure how it changes, kind of like that hurricane of creatures," Kristen admitted, flopping onto the loveseat next to Adaine. She was panting slightly, flushed, the exercise in control clearly tiring. She almost always was by the time they were done with whatever experiment Adaine had cooked up for them to try next, proving that magic at least had some kind of connection to their physical forms. She thankfully took the offered water bottle and chugged part of it, her breathing slightly more even when she was done. "They just do it on their own, depending on how I'm feeling, I think."

"Fascinating." Adaine added a few more notes as she rushed to finish capturing the last of her thoughts, then glanced down at the watch she had taken to wearing. It was still early for them, their parents wouldn't be expecting them home for another hour or two, but it was clear that Kristen was tired. Her control and abilities had grown over the weeks they had been experimenting, but magic was still draining. 

Instead of suggesting another experiment, which she knew Kristen would jump on even though she was exhausted, Adaine stood and stretched, yawning wide enough to crack her jaw. She rolled her neck and looked around, looking again over the cave they had almost made a home. 

Along with the loveseat, table, and the little fire pit, they had spent some time sprucing up the cave as well, making it almost seem like a windowless room in a home instead of a cave in the middle of the woods. Another rickety table, two mismatched chairs, some beat up bookshelves someone had been throwing away, a futon Adaine had spent her allowance on when she had gotten tired of waiting for Kristen to show up on the ground - the two of them had scavenged and scrounged on large furniture pick up day for anything they could use, convincing the kind loner Gorgug to help them gather it even if he didn't know why. He hadn't understood why they had asked for his help carrying it to the school yard, but he had been happy to help, and even happier when the three of them went to get ice cream, Adaine's treat. 

He'd be a good member of Magic Club, if he had magic. But until they fully understood everything, they couldn't bring others in. Not yet. 

From there the two had cursed and strained to get everything into the clearing, turning the cave into an almost home. 

It sure felt more like home than home did, a thought Adaine pushed to the side as she put her latest notebook next to the others on the shelf, their entire record of how magic worked written in her hand. 

"Want some popcorn?" Kristen asked, reaching down to pull a bag out of the box of snacks they had stored there. Not a lot, since they still weren't sure if animals could enter the clearing, but a few kept in a plastic bin, enough for a week or two so they could keep their strength up during their tests. Instead of waiting for an answer, Kristen muttered under her breath, a small bright light appearing in her hand. They weren't sure how it worked - Kristen had tested the light on Adaine, and while it hurt, there was no burn, so it shouldn't have been able to pop the corn in the bag Kristen held. 

But, just like everything, it almost never made sense, and a moment later, as the bright light faded, Kristen tore open the bag and stuffed a handful of perfectly popped popcorn into her mouth, grinning around her chipmunk cheeks as she offered the bag to Adaine. 

Adaine just laughed at her friend's antics and took a handful for herself, stepping outside of the cave to breathe in a deep breath of fresh air and enjoy the last of the light. 

It was always pleasant in the clearing - sometimes chilly, sometimes warm, depending on what the rest of the world was experiencing, but always that perfectly pleasant. Not cold enough to freeze their bones, just enough to enjoy lighting a fire as they worked. Not hot enough to drench them in sweat, just enough to bring a light misting to their faces as they experimented and tested Kristen's powers. And only Kristen's powers. 

"When do you think you'll start testing out yours?" Kristen asked as if she could sense the thoughts that were playing out in Adaine's mind. They both knew why they had only focused on the healer for so long, poking and prodding and testing how extreme her abilities were, trying to go further and further beyond even when they were pretty sure they had found at least her current limit. 

Adaine was scared. 

Not here, not in the clearing, at least. She would feel the bubble from time to time, whenever one of their experiments went wrong, whenever she had to take part in one that ended with her hurt, even if the pain was only for a moment before Kristen healed her. There were always risks, they knew that, and the few times they had had to wash their clothes of blood in the stream that ran through the clearing when things went especially wrong just served as a reminder. But even if she felt the bubble, something kept it from overwhelming her. Kept her head above the surface of the water she normally struggled to tread. 

But when they left, when they parted ways and went home? Oh, boy. That was when it all began to go wrong. 

Adaine was too curious to stop. Enjoyed spending time with her only and best friend in this town too much to stop. Was too driven to stop. 

But several times now she had collapsed in the shower, or had curled up under the covers and hyperventilated until spots had grown across her vision; the fear and the panic whenever she let herself think too much about what powers they had somehow stumbled across and were playing with was just too much. It was too much and too overwhelming and she fell too deep into the water to breathe. 

It was easier when they focused on Kristen. Easier when she was just a scientist, taking notes and designing experiments and left with a degree of separation from the insanity she knew their lives had technically become. It was easier when she ignored the twitching in her fingers that she longed to scratch, that she longed to let free. 

She was scared. 

Adaine knew, on some level, that she should ask her parents to take her to the doctor, should talk to someone about the ocean she was always swimming in, but again she was too scared. She knew how her parents would react, would wave her off and focus instead on every way she wasn't her perfect older sister, and so instead she focused on her science of magic. 

"I have a few more tests I think you should try," Adaine lied, popping some more of the cooling popcorn into her mouth, speaking through the crumbling bits to hide the way her voice wavered. "I want to fully understand your powers, and then we can try mine. Besides, understanding yours might give me a better way to understand mine, since we both know you won't take nearly enough notes." 

"Or maybe you take too many," Kristen teased, tossing a piece at Adaine's back, allowing them to fall into a playful mood, changing the subject as they began to argue about the amount of notes that were, in fact, appropriate to take when discovering something brand new in the world. 

* * *

It was a rainy Sunday almost a month later when Adaine finally decided she had to give it a try. 

They had figured out as much as they could about Kristen, at least without going into the more advanced, invasive experiments Adaine had designed. Advanced, invasive experiments that needed someone else involved, someone else antagonizing Kristen, actively trying to harm her, experiments that would discover how quickly she could heal herself when someone else was trying to end her. 

In short, experiments that needed Adaine to learn what kind of magic user she was, and become good enough at what she could do that she could hold her ground against the other girl who had so much more experience then she did. 

Kristen was all for these experiments. She had been the one, in fact, to suggest the two of them try fighting once Adaine had a good grasp of her abilities. It was Adaine holding them back. 

So, knowing that Kristen had some kind of religious study until later that day, Adaine lied through her teeth to her uncaring parents and, fighting against the wave that wanted to pull her down into its depths, went to the forest early. 

She didn't enter the clearing, not right away at least. They still weren't sure if creatures not brought in by them could enter, as it were. They had tested it with bugs and a lost dog Kristen had lured in with a bit of meat before she took it home, and so far they knew, for sure, that any creature they actively took in could enter. But in all the time they had spent there, they hadn't seen anything besides them. No butterflies, no birds, nothing. 

So, to test this spell, Adaine found a nice sized rock outside of the clearing. She wiped it down as best as she could, settled herself down in the cold and the rain, and tried to cast her very first spell. 

"Please," she whispered under her breath, eyes closed, the bubble and panic and wave threatening to wash her away, struggling so hard to get the words out of her closing throat as the fear pricked tears at her eyes. "Please, magic," she begged, entirely unsure of how to do this even after watching Kristen for so long, "give me something to help me feel less scared." 

For a long moment, nothing happened. Nothing happened and she felt as if she might cry, might scream, might throw up as the panic pressed so hard against the barriers she tried to keep up, the weak little walls that fell again and again and _again_. Perhaps she didn't actually have magic, perhaps this was all a mistake, perhaps she wasn't special and she wasn't needed or wanted or-

Something heavy settled on her knee, and Adaine looked down. 

It was a frog. Almost perfectly round, an almost cartoon color of green that had somehow bled into the real world, staring up at her with what she was almost certain was a smile. On a frog. 

Adaine burst into relieved laughter as she felt a wave of calm rush over her. The bubble was still there, as it always was, as it always had been for as long as she could remember, but looking at this perfect, almost cartoon of a frog, Adaine felt ok. She felt like she did in the clearing, calm and safe and wanted, and maybe even loved. Feelings that she hadn't even known she was missing for so long. 

"Are you here for me," Adaine asked, a hand reaching up to pet the frog, "or am I just deluding myself?" 

The frog just leaned into her hand as it made contact, perfectly cool and warm at the same time, soft and smooth and everything she needed and wanted. 

"I can't wait to show you to Kristen," Adaine said as she scooped the frog into her arms, the critter settling perfectly into the crook of her elbow as she stood. "I think I'll name you Bogariel Frogariel," she mused as she walked, her free hand rubbing the top of his head between his perfect eyes. "I can call you Boggy." That seemed to please the frog, and that pleasure just shared with Adaine, another wave of happiness and calm once again helping to shrink the bubble in her chest. 

It was the most amazing feeling. How could she have been scared of this for so long if this perfect little frog was the result? 

She was surprised to see a fire roaring in the fire pit at the entrance of the cave, the torrential downpour she had been walking through lightening into a light pitter patter on the leaves above as she entered the clearing, the cold sweeping away into just a light chill. She had thought Kristen would be busy for the entire morning and a good portion of the early afternoon, only available later in the day when her religious studies were done. Not that she was complaining, since that just meant she could show her friend her frog even earlier, but still, Adaine was a bit confused. 

If she was done early, why didn't Kristen tell her? 

Too happy and excited to really think about it, Adaine just shrugged off her concerns and raced over to the cave, stepping into the warmth as she announced her presence. 

It just seemed to be a day for revelations as Adaine stared at the futon, which they had just recently moved to be against the back wall so they had more room for another bookcase. As she watched Kristen scramble off the lap of someone sitting on said futon, this other person's back against the cave wall to support them both as they broke off their very obvious make out session, if the hand that had to be untangled from Kristen's hair was any indication. As Adaine pieced together the fact that this had to be Tracker, and Adaine realized that Kristen did not, if fact, have a secret boyfriend. 

She had a secret girlfriend, and Kristen looked almost about to cry as she smoothed down her shirt, eyes wide and scared as she waited for Adaine to say something, anything, to break the silence sitting between the three of them. 

"I got a frog." 

It was two hours later, two hours full of crying and hugs and reassurances, promises and stories and cooing over Boggy and praise for a successful spell that the three of them finally settled on the loveseat, Kristen sideways in Tracker's lap so the older girl could hold her, one hand holding Tracker's while the other held Adaine's, the healer unwilling to let go of two of the most important people in her life. Her girlfriend and her best friend, both who now knew every secret she had to share. 

"I wish I had a third hand so I could pet Boggy," Kristen said, tired and warm and content. "Adaine, give him more pets from me." 

"I will," Adaine said, her hand having never stopped petting the frog that sat happily in her lap, completely unbothered by the fire so close, enjoying the warmth from it and the three bodies that sat squeezed together on the loveseat. She gave Kristen's hand a squeeze, a squeeze that was returned, and continued to pet her frog, unwilling to break the comfort that had settled over the three of them like a weighted blanket. 

But she had questions, damn it, and she couldn't stop her mind from needing to ask them. 

"So, Tracker," she said casually, though it was clear from the look the other two sent her that it was obvious what she was about to ask. "How much of everything do you know?" 

"Not everything," Tracker said with a half shrug, unable to move much with how wrapped around Kristen she was, "but enough. You two found some weird book, it gave you magic, you've been using my girlfriend as a lab rat. Sound about right?" 

"I'm not a rat," Kristen grumbled, though Adaine just chuckled and nodded. 

"Right enough," Adaine agreed, smiling as Tracker gave a small kiss to Kristen's temple as she continued to mutter under her breath. "It's my turn next, we just wanted to fully understand Kristen's powers before we tried my own." A comforting lie, but Adaine decided this new stranger didn't need to know just how scared she had been. "And you're ok with all of this?" 

She didn't have a free hand to gesture with, but it was clear what she was referring to. 

"Adaine," Tracker said with all seriousness, "you haven't met my uncle. This is tame in comparison to some of the stories he's told. I love this one," she continued, pressing her cheek against the top of Kristen's head, "and I'm happy to take everything that comes with her. Magic and friends with magic and apparently magic frogs as well." 

Adaine just smiled and let out a long "OOooOOOOoooOOoo" as Kristen blushed. It was nice, feeling accepted and wanted and right. Something _she_ wanted, she was coming to realize. It had been a long time since she had felt that with her parents or sister, but here she had it. 

Adaine was happy.

She was also impatient, and twenty minutes of friendship and cuddles later she was standing over the book, Boggy next to her as she flipped through the pages to find something close to what she used. Her first spell a success, she finally wanted to know what, in fact, she was. 

* * *

Sadly, as Adaine quickly came to learn, she was not a healer. It would have been nice, to have that self assuredness that seemed to have come over Kristen now that she was not only holding onto so many secrets, but could also heal herself whenever she wanted. The girl could be a walking bulldozer if she wanted to without having to worry, at all, about the physical consequences. There was something almost appealing about that, and part of Adaine was sad that she couldn't have it. 

That still cut out about half of the options she had for what she was, thankfully, and if she was honest, she couldn't say that she was disappointed with what was left. Elemental, fighter, protector, necromancer - control over fire, water, wind, and earth - abilities to talk to animals and the past and the dead - abilities to change the future to match what she wanted, even if only in small tweaks and twists to get the outcome that she desired. 

There was still that bubble, that weight in her chest that the clearing lessened, that Boggy lessened, that hanging out with Kristen and on occasion Tracker lessened, but that still existed within her. The fear of what the magic could do, the power that she might one day hold, too much for her to control. 

But she was too curious, too driven, wanted it too much to stop. So she accepted the panic attacks when they rose within her, curled around the Boggy she had managed to keep hidden from her parents and sister, and continued to push forward. Because for the first time in her life she wanted something on her own. This wasn't something her parents forced her to want with their words or their pitting her and Aelwyn against each other. This was hers and hers alone and she _wanted_ it. 

So she came up with experiments, and whenever Kristen came up with one of her own insane ideas, Adaine tested them too, even if she was a bit worried that her friend might not have thought it through. Because, as it almost always turned out, Kristen never had, and her idea of science was a lot more hands-on then Adaine's had been. Maybe because the other girl was getting bored now that her tests were done, and throwing painful balls of light around sounded like fun. 

But Adaine accepted the suggestion, and even though it turned out she wasn't an elemental controller, or a protector, per say, everything healed properly and she was able to strike out even more of the options that she had available. And anything that helped helped, as Kristen pointed out. 

"Me jumping out of the tree showed I couldn't fly, right?" Kristen reassured the frustrated Adaine as the last of their wounds closed up, their singed and destroyed clothes replaced by the extras they kept in the cave, just in case. "I know it's not all sciencey like what you did with me, but progress is still progress. And you're still taking too many notes," she teased, gesturing at the notebook Adaine had immediately grabbed the moment they had finished the experiment, writing down everything she could remember before Kristen had even begun healing them. 

"And you still don't take enough," she retorted, sticking out her tongue before returning to her book. She was getting close, she could feel it, which was why she had accepted what she knew was a stupid, unscientific idea. The options were so few now, a small handful of subclasses that she just needed to figure out the differences between so she could finally claim what she was. 

Finally know, entirely, who she was. 

"You know how the magic knew I kind of wanted to be a doctor, and so it made me a healer," Kristen said a bit later, the two of them fed and watered and Adaine done taking the last of her notes. "Do you have anything like that? A job or something that you really want that could maybe influence your abilities? That could at least point you in the right direction, even if you're not one hundred percent sure." 

"I don't know," Adaine said honestly. She had laid herself out in the warm grass, Boggy a comforting weight on her stomach as she thought, one hand following the curve of his almost perfectly round body. He was such a happy frog, and just craning her neck to glance at him was enough to settle the nerves about her answer. Because, in all honesty, she didn't know. Her parents were rich, and it had always been explained to her and Aelwyn that they would graduate high school with the highest grades, they would go to their parents’ Alma Mater, and once they graduated there with perfect grades, their parents would get them perfect jobs and perfect husbands so they weren't stains on the family legacy. She had been reminded of her family's prestigious lineage more times than she had ever heard words of praise, and so she had never thought what she really wanted for herself. 

Peace, maybe? Freedom from the weight always sitting in her chest, that was always present no matter how small she managed to make it? Some kind of raft that would lift her from the ocean she always felt like she was swimming in, no matter how well she was doing? 

All things she was sure weren't possible, at least not in this life.

"That's ok," Kristen reassured her, moving from the cave to flop onto the grass next to her, letting her wild mass of red hair free from the hair band to spread out around her. "You'll figure it out. You're Adaine Abernant - if anyone can do it, you can." 

For a moment that bubble swelled within her, a fear of what if she disappointed Kristen after all of this fluttering across her mind. But just for a moment as her hand squeezed around Boggy, his comforting weight bringing her back to logic. 

Kristen was her friend, and she would help. She had Boggy to help, too. 

"What do you imagine for your future?" she asked, changing the subject from her current failures to the far off unknown. "I don't have a lot of thoughts about it, not really. My parents kind of just told Aelwyn and I what to expect. What about you?" 

Kristen sighed, tilting her head back so the warm sun could soak into her freckle speckled cheeks. "My parents did the same. There's a pastor's son from the next town over who they want me to date and get married to, so I can give them grandbabies and just be a good little pastor's wife. But," she trailed off for a moment, a small smile on her lips, "if I can choose? I think I do want to be a doctor. I want to make a religion out of helping people, out of not knowing what's coming next but being ok with that, so long as the people I help are ok. Me and Tracker can get an apartment somewhere we don't have to hide. I'd tell everyone who I am. Ok, maybe not about the magic," she said with a chuckle, lifting her hand to let a spark of twilight blue play over and between her fingers. "I don't want to end up in Area 52, but everything else. I want to doubt and help people in a real way and not have to pretend anymore."

"That sounds really, really nice Kristen," Adaine said, reaching out a hand to take hers. Kristen accepted and took it, interlocking their fingers and giving her hand a squeeze. 

"And we'd still be friends, of course," Kristen added. "I'm sure we can find a two bedroom the three of us can get."

It made a nice image. She and Tracker weren't as close as she was to Kristen, but Adaine could see the three of them living together, safe and happy and away from the toxic families who didn't accept them. It wasn't the charmed life her parents had always forced her to imagine, always including one upping her sister, but it was a life Adaine almost let herself want. 

For a moment it almost felt real. She could almost feel the rough cloth of the couch under her fingers, could almost smell the cooking of whatever new chicken dish they were trying that night, could almost read the title of whatever medical textbook of Kristen’s they were using for the short leg of the table that day. Could almost see the matching wedding bands Kristen and Tracker wore, could almost hear the knocking on their door as it opened to more friendly faces, friends and family they loved and trusted who had come over for dinner, people who loved and cared about and wanted her more than she could ever understand without expectations. 

It almost felt real, and it wasn’t until a few tears pricked at her eyes, her breathing catching in her throat, that Adaine realized how much she _wanted_ that. It was everything she truly ever could have asked for. 

It was everything that she knew, just knew, she could never have. She was weak and scared and she would follow her parent’s plan for her. The little weight in her chest reassured her that that was what would happen, no matter how much she wanted for it to change. 

“I really hope that’s a future you can have, Kristen,” Adaine said, giving her hand a squeeze. When she didn’t respond, Adaine tilted her head towards her friend, finding her sleeping peacefully in the sun. “A nap does sound good, doesn’t it,” she asked her frog. 

Boggy shifted happily on her stomach and closed his large eyes, Adaine following shortly after, back into that almost real dream she would wake longing for. 

* * *

It was clear, when Kristen asked for a favor, just how nervous she was. Which was weird, since Kristen was almost never nervous. She was scared at times, yes, or worried or upset, and of course she had shown all of the other emotions one would expect from someone, but nervous was rare. Most of the time Adaine had to be nervous enough for both of them, since Kristen was so willing to just dive headfirst without looking. So, when Adaine saw just how nervous Kristen was, she was more than ready to agree, even when the favor turned out to be so strange. 

“You want me to follow you two on a date,” Adaine asked slowly, head cocked to the side, half wondering if Kristen had jumped out of any tree lately. It was just so out there. 

"I promise it's not something weird," Kristen clarified, her cheeks and the tips of her ears flushing bright red. "I just..." She paused for a moment, taking a deep breath as she collected her thoughts. "You know how last week, that football player at school came out as gay? And almost everyone was really nice to him?"

Adaine nodded, because of course she knew. It was the only thing the entire school could talk about, and while some people had been assholes, most people had just been glad that he was out and not acting like an ass himself anymore. He was a good guy at heart, it seemed, and it had been heartwarming to see almost all of the other football players rally behind him. Most of the parents hadn't cared either, so long as he kept helping them to win games. 

"I want that," Kristen said with a shrug, shifting on the loveseat so her knee was pulled up to her chest, her arms wrapped around it so she could rest her chin on them. "Tracker and I always either go to her house or hang out here. I want to go on a real date, in public. But I'm worried. It'd be nice to have some magical backup, just in case. You know?" 

Of course Adaine knew what it felt like to be scared, nervous, anxious, that small bubble that always threatened to grow in her chest never letting her forget. Adaine moved from where she was leaning against the table to sit next to Kristen, pressing their shoulders together in a supportive move. A comforting weight, someone solid to lean on. 

"What do you want to do? Movie and dinner, ice cream, what's the plan? I need to know where I'm stalking you if I'm going to play spy and destroyer for a day."

It was like watching a picnic blanket unroll as Kristen spread out, one arm thrown around Adaine's shoulders as she began planning, the weight that had curled her up gone, Kristen's normally infectious joy and optimism flooding back through them both. Sunny and ready for an adventure, just like always, now that she had the reassurance that she wouldn't be alone. 

Kristen was more of a sister then Aelwyn had ever been, Adaine had known that for a while. She couldn't love Aelwyn, their parent's pitting them against each other and her older sister's torment barriers she just couldn't overcome, but she loved Kristen with all the familial love she couldn't give them. This sister of hers through magic if not blood. 

She wanted her sister happy, and if playing an invisible third wheel stalker did that, then she was happy to do it. 

* * *

For the most part, the date went well, from what Adaine could tell from the coffee shop across the street. The two of them got ice cream, sitting and laughing in the sun as she drank her way through half a dozen hot cocoas, peering over the thick book she was using as her cover. The waitress was nice, always smiling and asking about her day when she brought over a new cup, a nice momentary distraction from watching for any enemies that might sneak up on her friends. 

It was a lovely day, and every time Kristen glanced over at her, looking for reassurance that her back was covered, Adaine always lowered the book just enough so she could see the familiar nod, the slight glow in Adaine's eyes visible just enough to reassure her that she had nothing to worry about. 

At least, until Kristen and Tracker leaned into each other, faces tilted for a kiss, and Adaine gasped as her vision clouded, blurring and blending images within her mind that she couldn't control, that she couldn't stop, that she couldn't even begin to understand as too many of them filtered through her, all of them only giving a single word that she knew she had to fight through this to share: danger. 

She struggled to her feet, the bubble within her chest growing, expanding, pressing against her ribs and forcing out the air she knew she needed to focus on, taking away the energy she needed to cast the spell that had been sitting on her fingertips, to cause the distraction that would protect her friends. She threw down some money and forgot her book, forcing her feet to both move in the real world and keep kicking in her mind, keeping her above the wave that was threatening to crash into her as the panic and fear of the unknown washed through and over and around her. She stumbled through the door, past the nice waitress, and threw up her hand, pointing down the street at the target she had been watching, monitoring, always keeping an eye on it and so when it was time she could do this without a thought. 

The fire hydrant exploded, showering nearby passersby with dust and fine rubble and water that shot into the air, flooding the ground and soaking anyone too close. Kristen and Tracker jumped back from each other, Kristen immediately searching to find Adaine in the boiling crowd, people pushing back and forward as they tried to see and tried to get away, everyone screaming and yelling over the others. 

None of whom managed to move Kristen's father as he stood there, teeth clenched and jaw tight as he stared at his oldest daughter, her hand still intertwined with her girlfriend's. 

Adaine managed to force a breath, force back the panic, managed to make her way across the street just as the yelling started, Kristen and her father screaming at each other, he demanding she come home, right now, while she denied and defied him to his face. Demanding to know why she was there instead of with his precious church as she should have been, like they had planned for her to be. Him demanding to know why she was there, why he found her sitting with "this girl" when she was supposed to be at her club, that he thought he could go shopping while some wiring was repaired in the church without finding his daughter "flaunting her sin." 

Adaine slid into place next to Tracker, a step back behind Kristen, fear still present but forced back as she took her spot - here to support her as she fought the battle she needed, here to help her heal the pain they all knew she would soon have. They had talked about this possibility, had hoped it wouldn’t come to be, but Kristen knew it would happen sooner or later. At least here she had the support, the backup she needed, the people who cared about her as she was ready to help. 

“Maybe I’m not your daughter,” Kristen spat, the dangerous look in her eyes forcing her father to take a step back, as much as he tried to hide the fact that he was being cowed by a fifteen year old. “I haven’t been that perfect little girl you insist on deluding yourself into believing exists for a long time. I’m not coming home with you.” 

“You either come home now so we can sort this out,” he threatened, “or you don’t come home at all.”

For a long moment Kristen stood silent, tension in her spine as she shifted so her stance was more solid. She glanced over her shoulder. Adaine nodded, sparks dancing between her fingers as she watched, waited, poised to ensure nothing bad would happen to her friend. 

Beside her, Tracker nodded as well, her hands curled into fists that were ready to fly for her girlfriend if the need was necessary. 

Neither of them were needed, for Kristen turned back and raised her head. She gave her father a long, hard look. Nodded. And turned her back, taking the step away from him and towards the freedom to be who she truly wanted. 

“You listen here-” His words died into a scream as his hand never made contact, a whirlwind of blueish gray unknown forms twisting around Kristen for a brief second, his skin flayed into strips as the creatures protected her as she stepped into Tracker and Adaine’s waiting arms, her own pulling them both into a hug as she struggled against the tears. They turned with her, walking away from the screaming man, leading her into the safety of the unknown future that welcomed them. 

Adaine was the only one to look back, just once, as the sirens arrived, blaring their presence to those who had stayed, the noise just one blur. 

* * *

“Officials have ruled out foul play, their official statement claiming that it was age and a lack of yearly maintenance that caused the scene on Saturday. Luckily only one person was injured, the local Pastor Applebees, who has refused to give a statement. Whether or not-” 

The broadcast was interrupted as Arianwen turned off the old radio that sat on the counter, tutting in disapproval. “There’s no reason for something that dreadful to interrupt our meal. I believe the chef will be done with it soon.” 

“Right you are, darling,” Angwyn agreed, his tone making it clear he had no clue what he was agreeing to. His focus was entirely on the papers he had spread across his part of the table, reports and emails and letters he had brought home from his office cluttering the fine dark wood. Something that wasn’t new, that he would be tutted at by her mother for as soon as the maid brought out dinner, but something that wasn’t going to change anytime soon. 

“You know,” Aelwyn said, drawing out her words. “I heard the most interesting rumor the other day. You see...” 

The words turned into white noise as Adaine sat there, shifting in her seat. It had been a few days since she had helped Tracker take the distraught Kristen to her house, the mysterious Uncle Jawbone opening the door and immediately welcoming her in. He had offered for Adaine to come in as well, but she had politely turned him down, instead choosing to return home to avoid any suspicion. Despite how little her parents cared about her, they cared everything about image, and if she got home after them, covered in dust and clearly a mess, it would be hell to pay. She had apologized, though, that she hadn’t been able to stop this, an apology that was met with a long, hard hug and a reassurance that it wasn’t her fault before her friend disappeared into the home. 

A quick walk home, a deep scrub as she removed every trace of the day from her skin, and a phone call to Tracker’s landline to reassure herself that Kristen was in good hands. That had been all she had been able to manage before her mother returned, ranting about how difficult her day had been at the office and how they needed to find somewhere with a better library for her research. 

Kristen hadn’t been to school the last two days, hadn’t been in the clearing, had only relayed a message through Tracker when Adaine had managed to sneak a few moments to call again. “She’s dealing with a lot,” Tracker had said softly, “but she’ll be ok. I’m trying to convince her to not drop out, but no matter what, she’ll see you at Magic Club soon.” 

Adaine had nodded, knowing she couldn’t see. “Just give her my love, ok?” 

“Of course.” 

Besides that, Adaine hadn’t been able to do much. Her parents had demanded she come home right away, at least until the case of the mysterious exploding fire hydrant was done, and even Aelwyn had been keeping a close eye on her, though whether it was her own doing or because their parents had demanded it of her, Adaine wasn’t sure. No time alone to get on the phone, no time to sneak over and check on Kristen in person, no time to even see if there was anything she had left behind at the scene that could point to her. 

She was so thankful for Boggy, the little frog currently sitting upstairs under her bed. She had been able to sneak him back and forth to class, his presence the only thing keeping the bubble in her chest from bursting, the largest it had ever felt since the book had appeared to them, since she had gained her magic, her friend, the safety she had come to love and crave. She just had to get through the dinner and she could return to her room, lock the door, have the little bit of comfort he provided her. 

Just get through dinner. 

“-in fact, _she_ was the one who blew up the hydrant after he kicked her out!” 

“What?” 

Adaine winced as her mother and sister turned to look at her, the word having slipped from her mouth without meaning to let it. Her mother just shook her head, disappointed. 

“Please pay attention Adaine. Your sister was just telling us that it’s believed the Applebees’ girl was the one who caused everything on Saturday after her father kicked her out for being, well, you know.” 

“Which is why she hasn’t been in school,” Aelwyn added, taking a sip of her water. “Of course, just rumors, but we shall see if she comes back, won’t we?” 

“I would like to see a confirmed source of this rumor, Aelwyn,” Angwyn said, his eldest daughter wilting under the almost scornful tone of his voice, “but perhaps it’s for the best. It really is too bad there isn’t a private school in these parts, they would never let _those_ kinds of people in. That young man at your school was-” 

His words were cut off as Adaine stood from the table, her chair scraping loudly against the wood floors. The bubble quivered, threatening to break, but the fury kept it in place as she stepped away. 

“I believe I’ve lost my appetite,” Adaine lied. She had to leave before she did something she regretted, something she couldn’t take back. 

She wanted to. She had watched as her best friend had been brave, had given up everything so she could be herself. Adaine’s hands trembled as she tried to force the deep breaths that would keep her calm, that would let her get to her room, that would let her curl around Boggy and be back in control. 

“Adaine. Sit down. Now.” 

She knew that voice. She had fucked up, and she knew it would be hell to pay if she continued. One transgression could be forgiven, if she immediately took the steps to prove her obedience. Prove that she was a good daughter, a perfect child, that she could meet their expectations. 

Beside her, Aelwyn had found something particularly interesting about the wood in front of her. Her sister was just as scared as she was, and wasn’t brave enough to raise her head and watch. 

“No.” 

That surprised them all. Behind her Adaine could hear two sets of chairs push out from the table, her mother and her father standing at her defiance. Aelwyn glanced up at her through her curtain of hair, surprise and, perhaps, admiration in her gaze? 

Even as the little voice in her head told her that she had made a mistake, that she should beg for forgiveness, that she wasn’t strong enough, she wasn’t like Kristen, that she couldn’t make the changes needed to be herself, even as the ocean threatened to drag her under, even as the bubble threatened to burst, she still stood. 

She was tired of being bullied and told she wasn’t enough when there were people who told her she was. Tired of fighting for their love when they would never give it, at least not without conditions and expectations. She was tired of being scared. 

She didn’t really think, just reacted and moved as everything became too much, as she let herself rely on instincts, on the magic that itched under her skin and promised the freedom she had come to realize she longed for. Her father’s hand landed on her shoulder, spun her towards him, his face twisted in rage as she defied him, his mouth open to demean her and lay out the punishment he believed she deserved-

She punched him. 

It wasn’t strong, not enough to do more than leave a bruise and bloody his nose, but it was a punch directly to his infuriating face. A punch she gave, a movement she hadn’t thought about but had followed through on, forcing him to stumble back, his ass falling to the floor, holding his face in shock and pain as he stared, for the first time, up at her. 

“Kristen Applebees is my friend,” Adaine said slowly, her hand throbbing in time to her words. “I’m tired of putting up with you horrible, horrible people. So I’m going to leave here, and you’re not going to stop me. Are we understood?” 

No one said anything in response, all of them just staring at her in shock and horror and awe on Aelwyn’s part. Awe, because she was just as much of a victim as she was, Adaine realized, a victim of their parent’s expectations and emotional abuse and manipulation. She maybe wasn’t ready, didn’t have the friendship and magic behind her that Adaine did, but still she offered. 

“If you want to come with me, Aelwyn,” Adaine said softly, “you’re welcome to. You’re my sister, despite what they’ve done to us, and I still love you.” 

Tears pricked at Aelwyn’s eyes. Tears that went unseen as she lowered head to stare back at the table. 

“If you change your mind,” Adaine added, “come find me.” 

She wasn’t sure when Boggy came down the stairs, or even how he managed to open the door to her room. But, somehow, he appeared at her feet, looking up at her with his wide, comforting eyes, love and happiness rolling off of him despite the look on his face that said, “I’m not so sure about this.” She leaned down and scooped him up into her arms, holding his almost perfectly round body close to hers as she took those first few steps. 

Twenty steps from the dining room to the living room. Fifteen steps from the living room to the mud room. Five steps from the mud room to the front door. Three steps from the front door to the ground. 

She hit the ground running. 

* * *

She wasn't sure when the bubble popped, when her running became a frantic flee, sobbing and gasping as she tried to force air into lungs that didn't want to cooperate. Time and space lost all meaning as she fled the life she had turned her back on, as she finally stood up for herself and decided she deserved better, as she finally gained her freedom. 

She had to be broken, because why was freedom so fucking _terrifying?_

She thought, perhaps, to run to the clearing, to go to the place she had always felt safest, where the magic inherent in their home could calm her. But even as the thought appeared it was gone, replaced by the fact that it wouldn't help, that she would physically be safe but the world was still terrifying and she was now alone, the one thing she didn't actually want to be, alone and abandoned by the people who were supposed to love her but had stopped who knew how long ago, who had forced her to this. 

So she ran to the _person_ who made her feel safe, the sister who fate and magic had given to her and who she was determined to keep.

She didn't remember the journey to Tracker's house, couldn't remember the twists and turns that eventually led her to the door. She couldn't even remember knocking, couldn't remember the door opening, could only remember the welcoming arms and warm hug as Kristen pulled her inside, asking what was wrong, what's going on, Adaine, are you ok? 

"She's having a panic attack," a gruff voice said, Tracker's Uncle Jawbone kneeling in front of her. He was a large man, she half realized, large and hairy, a kind, soft smile showing through the large beard that took up most of his face. Facts that didn't quite register, so she just filed them away for later, when she could actually take a good look at him, something she hadn't actually done last time.

"Hey, kid." A large, hairy hand waved in front of her face, getting her attention back on him. "Do these happen a lot?" he asked, sitting back so he was on his heels. She wasn't sure when she fell to the floor, was only aware that Kristen was on one side, Tracker on the other, the two of them an almost presence by her side as they hesitated between backing away and holding her, both clearly worried. 

All she could do was sob and nod, another bubble breaking in her as she croaked out something akin to "broken," her squeeze on Boggy almost enough to pop him if he wasn't a being of magic. 

"Oh, kid. Can I give you a hug?"

Another nod, another croaked word that was the closest she could get to yes and _please_ and three sets of arms surrounded her. Three sets of arms as she found herself in the center of an almost unbearably warm hug, a large hand rubbing calming circles into her back. 

"Listen to me," Jawbone said, his voice calm, soothing, but all the more serious for it. "You are not broken, ok? These two filled me in on your Magic Club - not on purpose, I'll be fair, I was eavesdropping, no excuse and I'm sorry. But if you're the Adaine these two have told me about, you are _brave_. Brave and smart as a whip, and you are not broken. You're sick, you have a disease, ok? But you are not broken." 

Perhaps it was the warmth that sunk into her bones, stilling the shivers she hadn't realized were wracking her. Perhaps it was the soothing pressure of three bodies that signified three people who already cared about and accepted her, despite her only really knowing two. Perhaps it was the soothing circles Jawbone was rubbing into her, or the tone of his voice, or the words that were slowly sinking into her mind. Perhaps it was the comforting sounds coming from Boggy, or some full combination of everything that encased her as she sobbed, her chest aching cries beginning to calm, the waves a bit easier to tread, the bubble no longer pressing everything inside of her into the painful edges to leave her empty and hollow and hurting. 

Perhaps it didn't matter, because in that moment, Adaine _knew_. 

She knew the man holding her would become her father, all the papers signed and legal and done with love. She knew the girls hugging her would become her cousins, some of her best friends in a group that would grow over the next few years into a whole 'nother family. She knew Aelwyn would one day be good, would one day be the sister she had always longed for. 

She knew, in that moment, that she was an Oracle, and that she would be ok. 

It still took a bit to fully calm her and get the whole story out, which just led to more tears from Kristen this time as she tightened her hug. But soon enough they were calm and warm and all sporting mugs of hot cocoa, Boggy resting in a bowl of fresh water. Promises from Jawbone to take her to a friend of his ("Don't normally take random pills from strangers, but this is a good guy, and he'll find you something to help get you stable. We can take you to a real doctor when I figure out how.") filling her head, her legs trapped under a blanket, bundled between Tracker and Kristen as they fought over what they would do with the rest of their night, trying to figure out sleeping arrangements in Jawbone's small home, a home he had promised to them all.

For a long moment, Adaine felt like she was going to cry again. She could feel the tears prick at the corner of her eyes, wanting to release what had to be the last of the water inside of her. But she wasn't going to. Adaine wasn't going to cry. 

Because, for the first time in a long time, the pressure of the bubble was gone. So she laughed instead.


	2. Art

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can find my amazing artist on twitter @Apricotflyer or tumblr at apricot-artblog! Go and show love!


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